Photograph by Jeff Kearns

Measure A supporters Steve Andrews, Kareen Lambert, Linda Walker, and Charles Liggett encourage passers-by to vote in favor of a new city library.

Step 2 for Measure A

City leaders now must choose a location for the new library

By Jeff Kearns

With voter approval of Measure A under their belts, Cupertino leaders on March 10 moved on to the next phase of constructing a new city library.

Councilmembers said they hope a trio of public hearings slated for April and May will serve to answer the next question: Where should the city build the facility?

Officials have discussed two possible sites in the city's civic center plaza. According to city planners, both plans would incorporate some or all of the open field on the south end of the site.

One proposed plan will place the new facility between the existing library and City Hall. Another incorporates the entire open field. Councilmembers have said locating the facility will require gauging residents' thoughts about preserving the field.

"We need to find out if we're willing to build on the field before we conclude anything else," Councilmember Rich Lowenthal said.

Officials will field public comments and concerns during regular council meetings on April 17, May 1 and May 15.

Also last Friday, councilmembers formed a committee to interview architects for the job and recommend a selection to city leaders. Councilmembers Michael Chang and Sandy James, Librarian Mary Ann Wallace and a handful of city residents will serve on the committee. The council at its March 20 meeting will review a list of prospective community committee members.

Public Works Director Bert Viskovich said depending on how the process goes, selecting an architect and choosing a site for the new building will probably take about four or five months. The entire design phase, he said, could take as long as nine months.

To speed up the process, councilmembers chose to use the same method of architect selection that the city used when planning the new senior center. Instead of holding an open competition between architects submitting designs, the committee will interview prospective architects regarding the architects' plans to work with the community and their opinion as to the best site for the city. Committee members will then forward their recommendation to the council.

City staffers cautioned councilmembers to decide where the building should go only after hiring an architect.

"The decision on where it goes is both technical and emotional, and the architect can advise you on the technical, but you need to deal with the emotional," said Steve Dowling, the city's Parks and Recreation Director.

Seventy-one percent of voters on March 7 cast ballots in favor of Measure A. The plan calls for construction of a new library at a cost not to exceed $22 million. City leaders have vowed the project will result in no new taxes.

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